4 Keys to a Powerful Denouement

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Often as writers, we put a lot of our focus on the
starting, climax, and middle of a story, and the denouement or falling action
may be somewhat of an afterthought. If you grew up like me, you were kind of
taught that the denouement should just be a quick wrap up that can end the
story, and you weren’t given much direction on how to do that in a satisfying
way. But when crafted well, the denouement can sometimes feel like the most
powerful part of a story–not because it has heightened tension and conflict,
like the rest of the novel probably has, but precisely because it’s the
emotional release of all that. 

Here are some things to keep in mind when working with
denouements. 

The Proper Length

Denouements are often short, and in fact, I’ve been in some
creative writing classes where we were told that you can even cut them off
completely, and while that might work for some rare stories, I argue that
almost every story is better with a strong denouement than without. My
advice? Don’t skimp on it. (Usually.)

Because some of us were taught that the purpose of the
denouement is to get out of the story quickly, some of us actually make them too
short. You might be able to get away with that, but you miss out on ending your
story on a more powerful note. 

So what length should they be? Well, long enough to cover
the important parts but short enough to keep them interesting. So let’s talk
about what they need.

Its True Purpose: Validation

A powerful denouement doesn’t just “end the
story.” It validates it. This means validating changes that happened
during, or maybe rather, because of the story. Show evidence of what has been
lost, defeated, gained, or won. So after a romance conflict, you may show the
couple getting married. If someone died in the climax, you may show a funeral.
If the protagonist completed a character arc, we need to see him acting as a
changed person. Was the antagonist defeated? Show that he, she, or it is now
gone from the world. 

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Powerful validation, especially one after another, is what
can often bring an audience to tears–it’s the release and outcome of all the
previous hardship. It can also cement the theme into readers��� hearts. 

Validate what has changed, and sometimes, what hasn’t
changed. A lot of powerful denouements do some of both, which is why you’ll
notice it may be similar to the beginning of the novel, but different.

Tie Loose Ends (and Maybe Add New Ones)

This is usually what people think of when thinking of
denouements, but when you validate changes, you are often tying up any loose
ends in the process. Still, there may be some elements that need to be
mentioned and addressed directly. If there was a side mystery, we may need to
still get that resolved in the falling action. Any information that we are
lacking, should probably be in the text. Smaller conflicts that weren’t handled
in the climax, may be concluded here. 

And in some stories, you may actually be adding loose ends
in addition to tying off others. This is particularly true for a book in a
series. Maybe what happened in the climax opened up more questions and
potential conflicts. Some denouements close all the conflicts of the book, and
then at the very end, add a few loose ends. Installments in a series may
acknowledge any ongoing loose ends that haven’t yet been resolved.

Convey a New Normal

In the beginning of the novel, you probably conveyed a
sense of normalcy to the audience–what was normal for this character, this
setting, this society. Most satisfying denouements establish a sense of what
the new normal may be. This can be big and obvious, like a couple being
married. Or it may be more subtle, like what a changed character is planning to
do next in life. In some cases, you may be “hinting” at the future
more than “establishing” it. 

Sometimes, the “new normal” may actually be the
old normal you opened up with, but in most stories, that would probably
undermine all the changes that took place. Still, it can work for the right
kind. But even if the new normal is almost the same as the old normal,
typically it’s a good idea to at least give us a hint of how the protagonist grew,
internally.

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Sometimes September scares people with her enthusiasm for writing and reading. She works as an assistant to a New York Times bestselling author while penning her own stories, holds an English degree, and had the pleasure of writing her thesis on Harry Potter.

Find out more about September here, hang with her on social media, or visit her website to follow her writing journey and get more writing tips. Find September on
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